An Indian-origin Thai banker will have to return to Thailand to face charges of embezzling USD 88 million (Rs 4,130 million) after the Supreme Court of Canada on Thursday refused to hear his appeal against an earlier extradition order.
Ending one of the longest extradition battles in Canada's history, the court said it has denied 57-year-old Saxena's request for permission to appeal. The Indore-born financier has been fighting the case here for the last 13 years.
Saxena, who was under house arrest in Richmond, turned himself over to Canadian police yesterday prior to the ruling.
The police are expected to take Saxena to the Vancouver airport and hand him over to a posse of Thai officials who flew to Vancouver earlier this week in anticipation of a favourable ruling, the Vancouver Sun reported.
In the early 1990s, Saxena worked as treasury adviser to the Bangkok Bank of Commerce. In May 1996, Thai authorities accused him of embezzling USD 88 million from the bank. They allege that the fraud led to the bank's collapse in 1995 and the Asian financial crisis of late 1990s.
Saxena had moved to Canada in 1996. In the same year, he was arrested by the Canadian police. The federal department of justice commenced extradition proceedings, which he opposed on grounds that he would not get a fair trial in Thailand.
One of his alleged co-conspirators, Krekkiat Jalicahn, was recently sentenced to 30 years in jail in Thailand.
